Valiant
by Stranger Kind of Dream
Summary: Simmons and Ward are to go undercover at the opening ceremony of a new lab complex in London. The team are uneasy since Skye's 'incident' and although she's recovering, tensions are running high, even if it is just supposed to be an intel op. Coulson hopes he's making the right call... before the mission starts to go south.
1. The Mission

"_FITZ, NO!"_

_Simmons' tortured cry came from the other side of the room as Fitz gripped the barrel of the gun, digging it further into his chest as he stared at the man in front of him. The man who currently had his finger on the trigger._

"_She needs help," Fitz said slowly, trying his best to ignore Jemma's desperate protests, hoping she would stay where she was. "You're a good man," he continued, "she's bleeding, just let her go and I promise I'll stay, I'll help you I promise… Just let her go."_

* * *

EIGHT HOURS EARLIER

"Dr Andrew Reid." The team were gathered around the holocom as Coulson briefed them for their latest mission, which so far was not being very well received. It was the first one since Skye's 'incident', and everyone was still a little shaken. "Founded Chromo-labs several years ago when he managed to activate dormant cancer-suppressor genes in patients. Became a millionaire overnight."

"Oh I've read about him," Simmons broke in rather eagerly, "his work is extraordinary, he's helped so many people,"

"True," Coulson allowed, "he has revolutionised modern medicine, but Big SHIELD wants us to get a hold of some of his files, look up his latest experiments, that sort of thing."

"Why?" Ward asked, frowning. "Everyone's heard of him - notorious good guy, dying daughter, genius doctor who just wants to help people." The rest of the team nodded in agreement.

"So it would seem, and yet he's recently updated his security… in a big way. SHIELD used to monitor Chromo-labs' progress from afar, just to keep an eye on their research, but we can't gain access anymore," Coulson continued slowly, wondering how to break the entirety of the mission to them.

"Seems questionable if he's got nothing to hide," May stated with a frown on her face, voicing everyone's thoughts.

"Exactly, although he's always been private about his research," Coulson replied.

"Well that would be expected," Simmons started, keen to defend Dr. Reid.

"Yeah, don't want other scientists to take credit for your work," Fitz finished.

"Either way, we need to find out what he's up to," Coulson continued, remaining firm on his point. "Reid could be a great asset to SHIELD, and we don't want other… companies to influence him," he said slowly, wondering how long it would take the team to put the pieces of the mission together.

"So what do we do?" May asked, hoping there was another option to the only one she could currently think of.

"It's the opening ceremony for one of Chromo-labs' new complexes tonight, just outside London. Reid's experimental data is only kept on his own personal computer, which stays in his office. We have to get on site to hack his files, but we don't know exactly what to look for, and Reid has to be kept away from the office, to be distracted…" he admitted, looking only at May. He couldn't bear to meet the others' eyes.

A small intake of breath came from Simmons, but it was Fitz who spoke first. "You don't mean…"

"Undercover?!" Skye gasped, incredulous.

"Are you joking?" Ward demanded, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the edge of the table. Their latest mission had been such a disaster, and Skye was barely through her recovery from, what he could only describe as an extremely close call. His eyes fell on the aforementioned hacker, taking in her sallow skin, tired eyes and the way her arms were tightly crossed across her chest, as if to hold herself together. She was obviously still in a lot of pain.

"No Agent Ward," Coulson replied calmly, staring back at the specialist whose eyes were now locked on him, holding nothing but rage, "I am not joking. Taking Dr Reid in for questioning is not an option, unless we want a public outcry on our hands. SHIELD needs the information on that computer, and there is no other way to get it, so we need someone biologically minded to-"

"Wait, me?" Simmons cut in, unable to supress her panic as she realised where Coulson was headed. Fitz was already shaking his head, and the pair drew closer together.

"No," Fitz said resolutely, "no way,"

"It's non-negotiable," Coulson replied sharply. He didn't like this idea any more than the rest of them, but it had to be done. "Ward and Simmons, you go in the front door, pose as guests and talk to Reid so Skye knows what to look for when she's hacking his personal computer upstairs," he said, pulling up a map on the holocom.

"But why me?" Simmons asked desperately, "wouldn't someone else be better-"

"We need someone who can actually hold a conversation with the guests," Coulson cut in. He didn't want them to argue, since he had only just convinced himself that they could pull the mission off. "As you're aware, Reid is a pioneer in genetic research, many of his guests will also be specialists in their respective biological fields. Simmons, you are the only one capable of keeping up."

"But… undercover's not really my forte," she protested weakly, barely managing to keep the grimace off her face.

"You don't need to create a persona; you can be yourself, so long as you don't let on that you're part of SHIELD. Ward will accompany you, just in case, but this isn't a combat op,"

"Neither was the last one," Fitz muttered bitterly.

Coulson gave him a warning glance, but Fitz was looking only at Ward, who seemed to be just as pissed off as he was.

"This mission has been meticulously planned by HQ, tonight is the only chance we have - there's no other choice," Coulson said through tight lips. "May, you escort Fitz and Skye. There's access from the roof, but every door between you and that computer is locked automatically. The only way to gain entry is via multiple keypads," he said nodding in Fitz's direction. However Fitz was staring intently down at his hands which were balled into fists.

"I'll remain here to oversee the op," Coulson added, glancing at the rest of the team, who seemed to be paying attention, but looked to be in various states of rage or fear. Even Melinda's face betrayed some shock. He didn't want to see their faces like that, to be the one who put those expressions there. He wasn't the bad guy, just following his orders. _But wasn't that what Quinn had said to Skye just after he shot her?_ A voice in his head asked. That's what Skye had whispered to him from her hospital bed.

He had to get out of there. "We'll touch down in three hours, now get ready," he instructed shortly before walking out.

* * *

**Hopefully this will turn into a full story, if you guys like it. Let me know what you think!**


	2. Time To Go

**Wow you guys are so awesome! Sorry it's taking me a while to update, A-levels etc. rather get in the way, but I'm on holiday for the next week so hopefully I'll get a few more chapters up. Oh and don't worry, your Skyeward is coming, although not just yet. Keep me posted on your thoughts! x**

* * *

"You're doing the right thing, staying behind to oversee," May began, leaning against the doorway of Coulson's office.

She had followed him there shortly after he had stormed out of the briefing. The rest of the team didn't know what to make of Coulson's abrupt exit, but May could take a good guess about what was troubling him. And, as usual, she was right.

"It just feels wrong, separating our team," he said, his eyes regarding the files in front of him. She marvelled at how often he did that, tried to hide behind paperwork.

"But it has to be done – if we don't take a case soon they'll disband us, you know that," She stated.

"Doesn't mean I have to like it though. I should be there, especially after what happened last time - we had a plan then and-"

"The reason it went wrong was because we didn't know where anyone was – they cut our communication. If you stay back, run comms through the Bus, it'll run smoothly, they won't even know SHIELD were in the building,"

"So you're saying that I should trust the system?" he asked, the sarcasm heavy in his voice as he finally dragged his eyes up to meet hers.

"Phil…"

"Every time," he continued heatedly, "every call I've made, I've been sure it was the right one… and every damn time I've been wrong. Maybe they're right not to trust me,"

"Coulson," May cut in, her voice sharp. "You know I don't really do comforting," he raised his eyebrows, and she couldn't help but give a wry smile, "but never doubt it when I say that I would follow your orders anywhere. I trust your judgement Phil… do you trust mine?"

"Yes," he replied without missing a beat.

"Good," she said slowly. "Ward will look after Simmons and I won't let anything happen to Fitz or Skye," she added for good measure.

Coulson's eyes appraised the woman before him, trying, as he had so many times, to figure her out. She was loyal to the point of ferocity, but he knew he could trust May. Nothing clouded her judgement.

"They'll be leaving soon," he said, nodding at the screen on the wall which showed Ward down in the cargo hold, preparing for the mission.

"We'll be right behind," she assured him, turning to leave. "I'll go change… oh and Phil," she added, pausing in the doorway.

"What?" he asked, still frowning.

"You might as well add a moat," she said, smiling slightly as she repeated the words he had once said to her. A small smile escaped him as his eyes softened – she was trying to comfort him after all. "Stop moping," she ordered finally over her shoulder.

* * *

Fitz had joined Ward to wait in the cargo hold for Simmons, and both were now leaning against the Short Bus. Skye was currently helping the young scientist to "glam up", which involved elaborately curling her hair and forcing her to wear what Simmons could only describe as _ridiculously_ high heels.

Simmons had been wary initially, but Skye had been insistent and eventually her pestering wore Simmons down. Skye's reasoning was that since she was going to a fancy evening party, she didn't want to look out of place, which would obviously compromise the entire operation. Of course Simmons knew this was a bit of a stretch, but she'd rather be safe than sorry. However, she couldn't help being slightly jealous of the fact that it was so much easier for Ward – all he had to do was put on a suit and he was done. Apparently she required more than just a change of clothes; she needed nearly two hours of Skye making her over. She didn't really mind though, since she got to spend some time with her vibrant and somewhat hyper friend. Due to recent events, she had come to realise just how important her new family was to her and she didn't want to miss a moment, even if it meant sitting patiently whilst Skye transformed her.

Meanwhile downstairs, tensions were running high.

"I don't like this," Fitz said shortly, arms folded defensively across his chest.

"Me neither," Ward responded. "I know we have to get back into missions, but what is Coulson thinking? Undercover?!" he questioned irately, more to himself than the man beside him.

Fitz only shook his head, and they lapsed into a tense silence until he finally voiced his thoughts.

"You will erm… I mean Simmons…"

"I'll look after her," Ward said, clenching his jaw. _If Coulson won't protect my team, I'll do it myself _he thought determinedly.

"Look…" Fitz started uncertainly after a moment. "About Skye… when we were at Quinn's house…" He trailed off, unsure of how to continue. He knew that Ward was tremendously angry about what had happened on the last mission, so much so that sometimes he was unable to speak due to his uncontrollable rage. "I did try to protect her," Fitz finally said in a small voice, studying the floor intently.

"I know you did," Ward said, turning to frown at the engineer next to him.

"So… you don't blame me?" he asked.

"Of course not," Ward sounded genuinely surprised. "Fitz, it wasn't you in charge of that op. You did everything you could," he paused, wanting to express how brave he thought Fitz had been, but hoping he could phrase it in a way that wouldn't aggravate him. "Skye told me about you giving her the gun… did you even have a means to defend yourself?"

"Well, no weapons per say…"

"Fitz, you did everything in your power, and you should never have been put in that position in the first place,"

_Too bad that everything in my power just wasn't enough, _Fitz thought bitterly. He didn't say anymore - he didn't want Ward's pity. He was already painfully aware of the fact that he was distinctly lacking in the manpower department, especially when compared to Ward, and thinking about how there was no way he could protect Simmons made his stomach turn.

The door above them slid open, and the two stood up slightly straighter.

"Ready?" Ward asked as Simmons appeared on the balcony.

"Yep," she answered, making her was down to them.

Fitz's mouth dropped open. Simmons was wearing a floor-length red dress, her hair piled up on top of her head, loose ringlets falling to frame her face. As she got closer, Fitz discovered that the dress was backless, and exposed a great deal more of Jemma's skin than he was used to seeing.

Simmons began to feel rather nervous as she took in Fitz's shocked expression, hoping she didn't look too ridiculous.

"Too much?" she asked as she reached the bottom, really starting to regret letting Skye loose on her.

"Nope," Ward said, smiling affectionately, "just right."

"Fitz?" Simmons asked.

Ward rolled his eyes, nudging Fitz sharply in order to break him out of his trance.

"Erm it's er…" he struggled over his words. _Get a grip!_ He thought, mentally slapping himself as Simmons' face fell, her cheeks turning red. "No!" He said suddenly, "No, you look… beautiful," he admitted, surprising even himself with his honesty.

"I'll, er, start up the car," Ward said, watching as Simmons' face broke into a huge smile. It was only fair to let the pair have a private goodbye.

"Okay?" Fitz asked, taking in Jemma's worried expression. Even beneath her smile he could see it, the uncertainty in her eyes as they followed Ward's retreating figure. "You'll do great, don't worry,"

She couldn't respond though, fearing her voice would betray her. The enormity of the task in hand was only just beginning to dawn on her. She so wanted to be strong, and yet she couldn't help thinking about their last undercover mission. Truth be told, it terrified her.

"Jemma?" he prompted when no response came.

"I'm fine," she said decidedly, taking a deep, shaky breath.

Fitz paused. "Ward will be there just in case," he reminded her, "we'll be in and out before you know it," he promised.

She nodded, but still unconsciously she reached out for him, and he instantly took her in his arms. She held on tightly, drawing strength from him.

"You'll be fine," he whispered to her, although his words may have been just as much for his own reassurance. He willed himself to believe them, trying to supress the panic building inside. Of course Simmons was worried for him too, but she knew better than to say such things to him.

"Don't want to be late," she said, stepping back reluctantly. Fitz nodded as she made her way to the car where it was waiting at the bottom of the ramp.

She paused, hesitating at the door and turning back to look at him, concern blatantly written all over her face.

"I'll see you later?" she asked uncertainly.

"That's a promise," Fitz agreed firmly, giving her as much of a smile as he could muster. Their eyes locked one last time before she abruptly turned, getting in the car before it sped off, leaving Fitz standing alone.

* * *

**Thanks to everyone who has read this so far, if you could leave a review I will love you even more :D**


	3. Robot Heart

"Wow…" Ward murmured appreciatively as drove slowly past the complex.

The structure before them was huge - at least seven stories tall. The entire front wall was composed pretty much only of glass and at the entrance, an enormous fountain proudly displayed the Chromo-labs' logo. Simmons' eyes widened as she took in the daunting building.

"I don't know if I can do this..." she breathed, as they turned the corner. The sight of the complex had only served to amplify her fears. "What if I mess it up? D'you think Fitz and Skye will be alright?" She asked desperately.

"Listen to me," Ward said, pulling the car over before turning to look at Simmons, "You're not going to mess this up, okay?"

She didn't respond. They were now parked on a somewhat quiet backstreet, but the complex was still clearly visible to them, being so tall and well lit. Ward wasn't looking at that though, he was busy scanning Simmons' face. His earlier anger rekindled as he took in her expression - the fear and apprehension in her features was there plain as day, anyone could see it. And yet she wasn't concerned for herself. No, she was thinking about how her actions would affect the others. Of course.

He sighed, knowing only too well what it was like to feel as if the world was on your shoulders.

"Simmons, you need to stop okay, the safety of the team is not just your responsibility,"

She nodded, but kept her eyes fixed in the distance.

Suddenly Skye's voice penetrated the silence, "Rich coming from you Mr overprotective-man," she joked over the comm, causing Simmons to smile slightly. Even Ward couldn't help but crack a smile. It was times like this when he realised how (secretly) grateful he was for Skye's lack of protocol adherence.

"Really Skye? That's lame even for you," he teased, using his best stern voice, hoping she wouldn't think that he found her even remotely amusing.

"Woah, suddenly my nicknames aren't good enough for you?!" Skye exclaimed, causing Simmons to giggle slightly.

"You're slipping," Ward replied, unable to stop the full grin that spread across his face.

"Guys, quit monopolising the comms," Coulson interjected, "Ward, Simmons, you're up,"

Ward's face morphed back into its usual determined expression, one of a man on a mission. "You ready?" he asked Simmons as she took a deep breath.

"As I'll ever be," she replied, still only looking straight ahead.

"Come on," Ward encouraged as they got out of the car, "I'll be right here with you."

* * *

"I think Simmons is getting through to Ward's little robot heart," Skye commented as her, Fitz and May piled out of the SUV about fifteen minutes later.

"Hmm," Fitz replied shortly, concentrating on the device in his hands. "Bad news, my spectrograph's reading new electrical activity on the roof," he said to May.

"Coulson, looks like there's surveillance on the roof after all," she informed him.

"There are other ways in, but they will probably be guarded," Coulson told them regrettably.

"I'll scan the perimeter," May answered.

"Or we could just, y'know, use the back door," Skye said, pointing out a fire-exit that opened onto the alley where they were gathered. Judging by the amount of dead cigarettes littering the floor, it was clearly an unofficial smoking area. Fortunately, the door had been propped open, presumably by secretarial staff who couldn't go a few hours without their fix.

"Oh you're kidding," Fitz said, grinning slightly.

May shrugged, "Sometimes it really is just that easy." The three started down the hallway and, lucky for them, it was completely empty.

"May, left here, you can take the back stairs," Coulson told them. However, on the fourth flight, Skye began to fall behind.

"Can I have a minute?" She asked, panting heavily as she leant against the wall.

"We have to keep moving," May said, but one look at Skye's face and she decided it wouldn't hurt to stop for a bit. The girl's skin had an odd tinge to it and was covered with a sheen of sweat. "Two minutes," May allowed, pulling a water bottle from Fitz's backpack and handing it to her.

"Thanks," Skye said, gulping down almost half the bottle. She had been certain that she was ready for this mission, and yet there was still quite a lot of pain in her abdomen that she just couldn't ignore. "Right, let's go," she said, standing up straighter.

"You sure?" Fitz asked, frowning deeply.

"Yep, I'm good," Skye answered, flashing him what she hoped was a convincing smile.

"Is everything okay down there?" Coulson asked, a note of worry in his voice.

"Well-"

"We're fine," May broke over Fitz, knowing Skye wouldn't want Coulson to find out why they'd stopped. The three continued upwards, but not before May shot Skye a significant glance; however Skye wasn't sure if it was concern or a warning.

* * *

Down in the reception hall, things were going well. Simmons and Ward had made it into the party no problem thanks to Skye's incredible hacking skills, and having sat through a rather dull opening ceremony, they were now free to mingle with the other guests. Almost immediately they had been ambushed by a rather eccentric looking woman, whose green eyes seemed full of life despite the fact that she had to be at least sixty five. She had introduced herself as Professor Susan Pullman, researcher and teacher at The University of Cambridge, and proceeded to quiz the pair of them. It seemed she knew all about Dr. Jemma Simmons, and was particularly interested in how she was currently spending her time.

"So are you working on a research project together?" She asked sharply.

"Erm..." Simmons tried not to flinch under the woman's unwavering gaze but was taken aback by her abruptness, and found herself unable to come up with an answer.

"Oh no, I'm not a scientist," Ward interjected quickly. He had realised fairly early on that there was no way he could pass as any sort of expert here, so there was only one other plausible reason he would be there with Simmons, "No, not like Jemma here," he qualified, wrapping an arm around her waist. Simmons practically jumped from shock, but thankfully Pullman didn't seem to notice.

"So what do you do?" The woman probed, her beady eyes fixed on Ward.

"I'm a gym teacher," he said smoothly, his most polite smile fixed in place. Simmons marvelled at how he was able to lie so flawlessly - must be a special class they took at operations or something.

"You work with children?"

"Yeah, it can get _very_ trying," Ward smirked, hoping Skye was still eavesdropping on his conversations, and caught the not-so-subtle jibe.

"So how did you meet?" Ward's patience was running thin; he wasn't here for the chit-chat. He glanced down at Simmons, mistakenly thinking she might help him out, but one look at her face let him know that wasn't going to happen. She no longer looked nervous; in fact she seemed to be finding the situation way too funny, going by the barely concealed smirk on her face.

"Jemma was lecturing at the school, weren't you honey? Explaining health and physiology to the kids I teach,"

Simmons could only nod, trying to keep her composure.

"Well," the professor said, clearly unimpressed, "if you ever want to do something more interesting with your time, here's my card," she handed it to Simmons.

"Oh, erm, thank you, it was nice meeting you," she replied, trying to process the quick turn of events as the woman tottered off in the other direction. Simmons turned back to look at Ward, glancing only once at his face before she dissolved into giggles.

"Not one word," he ordered shortly, focusing intently on something in the distance.

* * *

"Oh so they're a couple now?" Fitz asked of no-one in particular. Having reached Dr. Reid's office, he was currently working on the keypad that guarded the door, and it was proving much more difficult to hack than the others they had encountered on the way up. "Uugh, stupid bloody thing!" He exclaimed, smacking the digits in irritation.

"Chill out Fitz, they're only acting," Skye replied, very much enjoying watching Fitz's jealousy-fuelled temper tantrum. "It'll be _'strategic'_," she continued in a poor imitation of Ward's voice.

"Yeah well I don't see why it's necessary," Fitz grumbled, focusing intently on what he was doing rather than looking at the two women next to him. He hadn't actually meant to voice his earlier thought, but he was hoping he might still save himself from embarrassment.

"Ward knows what he's doing," May said decidedly.

"Totally," Skye said, although she was slightly surprised that May had an opinion on the matter. "There's no way he could pose as a scientist, so what other explanation would allow him to be there with her?" Skye asked, folding her arms triumphantly when Fitz didn't respond, pleased to have outsmarted him.

"Coulson, we're in," Fitz said, storming into the empty office as soon as the door clicked open.

May and Skye raised their eyebrows at each other, causing them both to smirk at the sulking scientist as they followed him in. "He's just jealous since he saw Simmons all dressed up," Skye teased, causing the engineer to turn rather red.

"No I'm not-"

"What was that about wanting to do stuff with your bare hands?" She asked, feeling rather satisfied as she watched the shock spread across his face.

"Oh my god Skye! You-"

"Skye?" Coulson cut in, just in time, "Reid's computer should be on the desk,"

"On it," she answered, smiling sweetly at Fitz as she took her place behind the desk.

* * *

**So how did everyone find this? Still in character? I'm trying to work in moments between all the individual characters if I can, but do let me know if you think some of it doesn't quite fit. Hopefully I can get the next chapter up by the end of the week, if you still want more? Let me know! x**


	4. Our Way In

**Okay, firstly I am UNBELIEVABLY sorry for how long it took me to get this chapter finished! I have just been so so busy with college mocks and uni interviews and all that crap that I didn't have any time to get this done.**

**Now I know (SPOILER ALERT) that Ward has gone bad and shit has gone down with hydra, but I obviously started this story before that, so let's just assume he's not on the dark side and everything is still happy and nice.**

**(Oh and also, some of the following science-y bits are facts, but I had to smooth over quite a bit of it to make the plot work, so yeah I know it probably is a load of implausible rubbish.)**

* * *

"Okay Coulson, looks like we're all set up here, how's it going downstairs?" May asked.

"Simmons, Ward? Reid's coming your way, now's your chance," Coulson said.

"Eyes on the target," Ward replied, as he spotted Reid making his way towards them. He exchanged a nod with Simmons, checking that she was ready.

Dr Andrew Reid was a small man, with dark eyes and jet black hair. Looking at him, he didn't particularly stand out in the crowd, wearing a fairly ordinary suit. He looked to be in his mid-30s and in Ward's opinion, not much like a genius doctor. However, it did cross his mind that looks can be deceiving.

"Dr. Simmons?" Reid asked instantly, extending a hand to her.

"…yes," Simmons replied, moving to shake his hand, whilst glancing uncertainly at Ward. They weren't really expecting Reid to know who either of them were.

"Good evening, I hope you are enjoying the party?" Reid continued, smiling warmly at both her and Ward.

"I am thank you, but how did…"

"Your reputation precedes you - I've heard a great deal about your work," he told Simmons, sounding rather impressed. "And, from what Professor Pullman has told me, I understand you are in between things at the moment?"

"Oh well, erm yes," Simmons stuttered.

"I have to admit, I'm surprised you made it here," Reid continued, "Of course, most of the scientific community has heard of you, being such a young student, but since graduating you seem to have disappeared somewhat," he probed.

"Oh er..." Simmons looked to Ward for help. He tried his hardest not to groan, mentally noting that he was going to have to give Simmons some lessons on how to lie sooner or later.

"She's been very busy recently," Ward clarified, trying not to be too short with his answer.

"I'm sure," Reid said, turning to look at Ward properly for the first time, "Sorry, I didn't catch your name,"

"John Ward Masters, but most people just call me Ward," he said, internally wincing. He didn't want to use a name so close to his real one, but in the event that Simmons was to slip up, she would most likely use his last name, so he thought he had better get it out in the open. "It's an honour to meet you doctor, even if I don't really understand most of this stuff," Ward joked, "I'm Jemma's plus one," he explained, clearing the confusion from Reid's face.

"Well in any case, I am glad you could make it," Reid said, checking his watch before flashing them both a charming smile. Ward could tell that Reid wanted to leave, but he was determined to keep him talking, although he didn't quite know what to say.

"I'd love to know more about your work Dr. Reid, I really am intrigued by it," Simmons jumped in, much to Ward's surprise.

"Oh well thank you," Reid said, also somewhat taken aback. He obviously wasn't expecting her to be so enthusiastic, but now that she had got to know Reid a bit, Simmons couldn't supress her scientific curiosity.

"I've heard you've found a way to activate the dormant cancer suppressor genes?" she asked.

"Oh not quite yet, but I am rather close," he confirmed, leaning in closer to her as the conversation became deeper. "So far I've managed to isolate the normal suppressor gene-"

"P53?"

"Precisely, and I have been successful in using it to slow the growth of cancer," Reid said rather proudly.

"Using it how? You can't possibly activate it in grown patients, that would mean changing the DNA in every cell in their body,"

"True, but injecting fully functioning suppressor proteins into subjects, much like insulin, allows them to fight off tumours, for a while at least. Locating the p53 suppressor gene has allowed me to contemplate the possibility of being able to activate it in foetuses, therefore eliminating the need for treatment of cancer at any stage in a patient's life,"

Ward blinked a few times, trying desperately to keep up with the two scientists, but he was already quite a way out of his depth. However, Simmons was still most definitely on the ball. "Because they would never develop cancer," she concluded.

"Well, it's highly unlikely they would," Reid clarified, "but the proto-onco genes would also have to be fully functional in order for this to work, and spontaneous mutations are still possible,"

"But with your treatment, the injection of proteins…" Simmons trailed off, contemplating the possibilities. "This is amazing; you could save so many people's lives… you could cure cancer!"

"Well that is the plan, heaven knows how hard I've worked for this, how much I needed it…" Reid trailed off and the pair looked at him with questioning eyes. "I was a medical doctor originally you see, but then I had to specialise in genetics,"

"Had to?" Ward asked as his eyes roved over the man before him. He seemed a nice enough guy, not at all stuck up or pretentious which you might expect form a man who had recently been given a few million for his research. Still, Ward didn't fully trust him… who knew what his real motivations might be.

"My daughter, Anima," Reid said, producing a photo from his pocket. The girl in the picture was small, about three years old at the most, but beautiful. Her tiny body was swathed in a sari, her dark eyes shining as she smiled at the camera, her ebony hair curly and thick.

"She's gorgeous," Simmons smiled.

"That was my sister-in-law's wedding - a few years ago now. She was so healthy once, so full of life, but the illness has changed her since then,"

"The illness… Cancer?" Ward asked, finally putting the pieces together.

"Osteosarcoma," he confirmed sadly.

"I'm so sorry," Simmons whispered. She was beginning to feel sorry for Dr. Reid. From the briefing Coulson had given them, she had thought Reid might be a certain kind of man, rather like Ian Quinn, but as it happened, all Reid's work was for a selfless cause. He was trying to help others, not play them, and no matter how suspicious his activities seemed, surely he didn't have malicious intent.

"That's why I specialised; I need a way to reverse the dormant gene,"

"Well, she's lucky to have such a dedicated father," Ward said, smiling slightly at the man before him, although Reid did not return it.

"Yes, you seem so close to finding the answer," Simmons added.

"I hope so," Reid said, but that troubled look held. "To be honest, the process should now be fairly simple, especially since I now have such advanced technology at my disposal, but I've read some of your work Dr. Simmons, and I can say with some confidence that you are capable of such contributions too,"

Ward could swear he saw a blush colour Simmons' features.

"I don't know about that, but, yes, I'm sure state-of-the-art labs such as yours would definitely help to speed things along," she admitted, her happiness quickly turning to regret as she thought about the limited resources she had access to at the moment. She had never given it much thought before, but now, having hit a dead end whilst trying to analyse Skye's blood, she could fully appreciate such a place.

"Well," Reid began, noticing the grimace on the young scientist's face, "technically I shouldn't, but if you're interested, I could run you both down to the lab for a quick look around… if you wish?"

Ward smiled. Much like him, people were very easily won over by Simmons. She was endearing, and he had come to look at her much like he did his little brother - she was young, innocent, enthusiastic, but also brave and selfless.

"That would be amazing, thank you so much!" Simmons enthused.

"I'll just have to clear it with security, wait here and I'll be back in a minute,"

Ward turned on Simmons as soon as Reid was out of earshot. "So, you seem to be quite popular here, got yourself a couple of fans,"

"I doubt that," Simmons laughed, although she was somewhat enjoying the flattery. It wasn't often she was considered on her merits as an individual, she was usually part of a package. Not that she wanted to be apart from Fitz of course, but sometimes it was nice to be considered separately from him. "They just admire my work, my brain,"

"Still, should make our job a bit easier, if they all want to recruit you, he's gunna want to impress you, and I think that might just be our way in,"

"Maybe," Simmons conceded, "I wonder how the others are doing," she mused, frowning slightly.

"What's the latest Coulson?" Ward asked, discreetly putting a hand to his ear.

"All going as planned," Coulson informed both him and Simmons, "Fitz is helping Skye identify which files to look into, since he seems to understand most of what Reid was talking about, May's outside standing guard, although it's just a precaution,"

"Yeah I don't think there will be many guards up there tonight, looks like most of them are down here,"

"It's most likely," Coulson said, "but either way we don't want to catch their attention,"

"Copy that," Ward said, quickly removing his hand as he noticed Reid coming back towards him and Simmons.

"Please, follow me," Reid said as he approached, leading them away from the party and towards a clear glass elevator that would take them up to the labs.

* * *

**Not a lot of the other team members in this chapter I know, but the next one should be up soon (and I do mean soon), where I'll spend more time on them. And don't worry, things are about to get just a bit more complicated (your comments have definitely been taken on board!) Thank you to all you amazing reviewers and if you could possibly let me know what you think at the end of this chapter I would be extremely grateful! xxx**


	5. Complications

Up in Reid's office, things were going pretty slow. With May standing guard, Skye'd had enough time to search through almost all of the 'newly protected' documents that she could find, and so far hadn't discovered much.

Fitz glanced over at her, frowning. The young hacker was only using one hand to work on the computer; the other was curled tightly around her midsection, clutching at her stomach. It wouldn't take a genius to put the pieces together, and what with Skye needing to rest earlier in the mission, Fitz was pretty sure he knew what was going on. The only questions that remained were how much pain was Skye in, and how long before this mission became hazardous to her health?

He knew the basic things to look out for, signs of internal bleeding and the like – Simmons had briefed the team extensively – but he also knew that Skye would try her best to hide such complications.

"You sure you're alright?" he asked, placing a hand on Skye's arm.

"Yeah," she said quickly, instantly straightening in her seat. However, she couldn't completely mask the wince that followed.

"You don't look it,"

"Yeah well I'm fine," Skye said in a sharp voice, trying hard to ignore the pain she felt inside. Truth be told, she was far from fine. In fact, it felt like her abdomen was on fire, but she wasn't about to leave now. The team needed her, and they had come this far – no point in giving up just because she felt a little shaky.

"'Cos you know you shouldn't hide something like that, right?" Fitz continued, trying his hardest to get through to his stubborn team mate, "The trauma you experienced was-"

"Yeah, yeah, I was in bad shape, I know, I got the whole lecture from Simmons," Skye said, looking at Fitz and sighing dramatically, "Many, _many_ times."

"And with good reason," he countered, still firm on his point.

"Fitz, look, I'm not saying I'm a hundred percent," Skye tried desperately, "but this is our only shot, and I'm not going to jeopardise the mission. Do you really think things will go well for Simmons and Ward if I decide to back out now?"

Fitz didn't reply. He didn't want to think about that, and to be honest, Skye felt bad for suggesting it. She knew that what she said was pretty much Fitz's worst fears, but they were hers too, and she didn't really fancy the idea of it becoming a reality. Fitz eyed Skye with determination, until he sighed and finally broke her gaze.

"Trust me, I'm okay," she said, knowing he had given in. "So, what exactly am I meant to be looking for?"

"Just anything out of the ordinary I suppose," he replied, moving closer to get a look at the screen before them.

"Well we've been searching for ages and I haven't found anything strange yet… And anyway how are we supposed to know what strange looks like? I mean we're searching an experimental lab's database," she pointed out.

"Well… I can take a good guess, but it'd be a hell of a lot easier if Simmons was up here too," Fitz said distractedly, causing a small grin to grace Skye's lips.

"Although…" he continued, eyes fixed on the screen, oblivious to her mocking smile, "_that_ looks a bit out of the ordinary," Fitz said, pointing out one of the files they had been trawling through.

"Found something?" Came Coulson's voice in their ears.

"Not sure yet, I'm just pulling it up now," Skye replied, sifting through the various information. "Does that make any sense to you?" She asked, turning to Fitz.

"Bloody biological nonsense doesn't really make much of an impression on me but…" his words trailed off as he took in the data on the page, "but it doesn't seem right... that looks like… reversal,"

"And that's bad?" Skye asked, glancing back and forth from the screen to Fitz. She couldn't make head or tail of the data, but judging by Fitz's expression, they were looking at something pretty significant.

"It doesn't make any sense," he reiterated, the confusion as clear in his voice as it was on his face.

"What is it Fitz?" Coulson asked.

"Erm, okay," he took a deep breath, trying to sift through the words to check he hadn't missed anything, "from what I can see, the genes that Reid wants to activate, the suppressor genes, he's trying to figure out how to switch them off instead… why would he want to do that?"

"So that would mean what?" Coulson's voice came again, attempting to get a grasp of what Fitz was implying, "The cancer would grow?"

"Well yes, but not just cancer, any abnormal cells would multiply," Fitz clarified.

"But why, if his daughter's got cancer, why would Reid want to do that?" Skye asked.

"…I don't know,"

"Skye, dig deeper," Coulson ordered, "Reid's obviously got something dodgy going on that he doesn't want us to see, find everything you can about this reversal process and why he might be doing it,"

"Coulson!" May's voice broke over the comms suddenly.

"May?"

"I've got guards out here," she said flatly.

Whilst the others had been talking, May had been discovered by four security lackeys. Although she could tell that none of them were very highly trained, they were each at least twice her size, and she was willing to bet that whatever they lacked in skill was made up for in brute force.

"Keep them out of the office, Fitz and Skye might be onto something," Coulson told her, despite knowing it was unnecessary to do so. May knew what was required of her, but he just wanted to be there, even if he was only giving orders.

"I'm working on it," she assured him, moving towards the men. Before they could even take in the scene, she had disarmed and knocked out two of them. However, during this time, the remaining two had worked out just how much of a threat she was. One advanced, but May was ready, and before the guy could take more than two steps, she'd brought him down. She rose slowly, eyes fixed on the last man, waiting to see what his approach would be. Unfortunately, he did something she did not expect. Instead of raising an arm or a gun, he just ploughed forward, using his body to knock her to the side. May heard her head hit the wall before she felt it, and as she slid down to the floor, her spinning mind could only process one thing. The guard had gone.

* * *

"May, do you copy?" Coulson's voice cut through the silence of the bus. "May?!" He tried again desperately.

He truly hated being stuck so far away from the others, but there was a small voice in his head reminding him that it was the right place to be. May's voice. Nonetheless it was hard for him to keep a clear head at times like this, especially after what had happened last time...

'_No, stop it' _he told himself, _'this is just an intel op, you have to supervise them properly this time'_.

He ran a hand over his face, trying to reach her yet again, "Melinda?!"

This time, May's voice came in response. "Yeah I copy," she said, and Coulson couldn't keep in his sigh of relief at hearing her voice. "But I lost one of them," she continued shortly.

"I'll get Ward on it," he reassured her, having to remind himself that all was not well just yet.

"I can pursue him," she answered quickly, but she could not hide the breathlessness in her voice.

"No, you stay put in case any more turn up,"

"But-"

"That's an order May," Coulson practically shouted. He couldn't deal with any arguments right now; it was hard enough to co-ordinate the team without them going against his instructions.

"Fine," came May's eventual response. Coulson didn't need to see her face to know she was grinding her teeth in frustration.

"And tell Fitz he needs to temporarily block the guards' internal comms - we don't want alarms sounding before we catch that rouge man,"

"Copy that."

Coulson pulled up Ward's phone number, knowing it would be easier to extract him from Reid's presence if he already appeared to have a reason to leave. Also, he didn't really want Simmons in Ward's vicinity when he explained the situation. It was only a small problem, but one that would undoubtedly cause her to worry. Reid didn't seem like much of a threat himself, but it would be best not to make him suspicious.

Once he had updated Ward, Coulson returned his attention to the others, now utterly grateful to May for convincing him to stay behind. He could see everything much better from a distance.

"Fitz?" he asked, "What's the latest?"

"Comms are sorted," Fitz told him, a note of worry in his voice, "hopefully Reid won't notice it for a while,"

"No," Coulson reassured him, "from what Ward's told me, Reid's plenty busy showing Simmons around the labs,"

"Okay good, well we're just finishing up here anyway," he continued, "we're looking over the last file now,"

"Just get it onto the hard drive, we'll analyse it later," Coulson ordered.

"But what if-"

"Save it Fitz, just get it done so you can get outta there. We've already had enough trouble for a low risk op; it's time to go,"

"Yes sir," he agreed.

"You got that Skye?" Coulson asked. He was grateful for her silence on the matter, but it also troubled him slightly. Skye was usually the first in line to argue with his orders.

"Yeah…" Skye replied, "I just…" her voice trailed off, quickly followed by the sound of a small thud. However, it was Fitz's next words of "Oh my god," that truly set Coulson's heart hammering in his chest. Something was wrong.

"What is it?! Fitz, what's happened?! Skye?!" Coulson demanded of the empty air. He held his breath, fervently hoping there was a faulty connection, but knowing that just wasn't the case. He could see on the screen before him, all their connections were fine.

After what seemed like an eternity, Fitz finally spoke.

"It's Skye," his shaky voice confirmed, "she's collapsed."

* * *

_**Finally**_** getting to the good bit now! So, what dyu think? Do you think Skye will be alright? And what about Reid? Are we liking him so far, or can't we trust him just yet? As always, let me know! x**


	6. Puzzle Pieces

**Okay, you guys are AMAZING! I seriously never thought anyone would be that interested in my ideas, but omg I feel so happy! Thank you for all your wonderful reviews, I am so glad you are responding to the plot and telling me your thoughts, honestly it means the world to me. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter cos man it was hard to get down!**

* * *

_This place is even bigger than I imagined, _Ward thought as he made his way along yet another empty corridor. Coulson had pulled him out of the lab almost ten minutes ago, and still he was yet to find any sign of this security guard, or even another human being for that matter. The place was eerily quiet, the only sound to be heard was the low humming of various machines, and even the party downstairs had become muted.

The silence made him edgy, and he was fast regretting leaving Simmons two floors below. From the time they had spent with Dr. Reid, Ward had come to the conclusion that he was not a threat, but he was still wary of the man, as he would be of any potential hostile.

He thought back to Simmons' face just before he had left, her eyes wide with panic despite the smile she was trying so desperately to hold in place. His phone had rung, and as soon as they both heard Coulson's voice through the speaker, they'd known that Ward was needed elsewhere. He'd gone before she could hear anymore, reminding her that he would "be back before she knew it," but that was before Coulson had filled him in on all the details. He hadn't known that Fitz and Skye were onto something until he'd reached the next floor. He just hoped for Simmons' sake that it was nothing too serious – he already felt guilty as it was.

"Ward?!" Coulson's panicked voice came suddenly in his ear, causing him to jump. He flattened his back against the nearest wall, pulling up his gun immediately, but as soon as he had, he realised there was no need.

"Sir?" He replied stoically, trying to hide the breathlessness in his voice. He didn't want Coulson to even have an inkling that he, Agent Grant Ward, had just jumped at a loud noise. It was not something a specialist would want to broadcast, and no way was he going to give Skye another reason to mock him.

"Get up to the others now," Coulson ordered sharply.

"Can it wait? I didn't get the guard yet," he argued, still proceeding down the corridor, mind focussed on the task in hand.

"That's an order Ward."

The young agent straightened slowly, pulling his gun back slightly, still undecided but momentarily distracted. "What's happened?" He asked, his voice hard.

There was a pause before Coulson spoke again.

"Skye's out cold."

Ward couldn't quite process the words straight away, but when realisation finally dawned on him, he found he was still frozen to the spot.

"Wh... How?" He asked slowly, his questions coming faster as he began to focus, "Is she alright? What happened?"

"She just collapsed, Fitz thinks from complications with her… injuries," Ward gritted his teeth in frustration. He'd known she wasn't ready to go back into the field. "She seems alright now," Coulson continued, "Fitz and May are looking after her, but you need to help them get her out,"

"Right." He answered shortly, more than fed up with Coulson's orders. It was his instructions that had got them into this mess in the first place. "Where am I going?" He was already running.

"Seventh floor, east side." Ward was on the sixth, so it would only take him a few minutes to reach them, especially at the pace he was now moving. He almost smiled - finally some good news. "Reid's office is clearly signed, you won't miss it," Coulson added.

"Yeah. Got it."

* * *

Meanwhile, contrary to Ward's beliefs, things were going just fine for Simmons down in the lab. What Dr Reid had originally offered as a 'quick look around' had soon turned into a full demonstration, and Simmons was thoroughly engrossed. It was clear that the man before her really did have a passion for science.

"So you see," Reid concluded, "I can then use the totipotent stem cells to allow the healthy gene to grow…"

"And place them into the zygote to allow full development," Simmons finished, her eyes wide with admiration.

"Exactly," he said, smiling warmly at her.

"That's… amazing, really amazing," Simmons breathed. The work Dr Reid had shown her was ground-breaking and she couldn't wait to share it with Fitz. Gene technology had such a precise mechanical element to it that she was sure it would fascinate him almost as much as it did her.

"Well, don't get too excited," Reid warned, beginning to roll the sleeves of his dark blue shirt back down. He reached for his suit jacket off the chair where he had discarded it earlier, too absorbed in his work to notice. Simmons smiled fondly at that, remembering all the times Fitz had done the exact same thing when he was running manically round their lab.

"I still don't know if this will work on human patients yet," he continued, "it's purely theoretical at this stage,"

"But you can keep using the injection of anti-cancer proteins until you figure it out, can't you?" Simmons queried.

"Well, that too is still in its early stages," he said, his face quickly becoming downcast.

"I thought you said that your daughter was receiving that treatment though?"

"She is, but it isn't without its drawbacks," Reid said solemnly, leaning against one of the desks. He was staring at the floor, but his dark eyes seemed far away, and Simmons felt it was almost as if he was talking to himself at this point.

"Why do you say that?" She asked, trying to make sense of the man's sudden despondency.

"Well it's not just her tumour suppressor genes that are inactive. Her proto-onco genes… they have become onco genes, so her cancer is growing at twice the usual rate,"

"They've mutated?"

A long sigh escaped Reid before he could answer Simmons. "Anima has a genetic predisposition to faulty alleles," he admitted, taking his glasses off to rub his eyes. "It's my fault," he whispered.

Simmons looked Reid over, compassion flooding her. He blamed himself – his genetics - for his daughter's cancer, and still he was trying so hard to fix it. To fight for her. For a moment, Simmons felt that maybe she should leave him, alone and private with his grief, and yet she was just so desperate to understand, so desperate to help that she just couldn't go.

"So… the proteins aren't working because the tumours are growing at twice their usual rate," She asked.

Reid could only nod in response, his head still in his hands.

"But she's still alive…" Simmons continued, determined to make the pieces fit together, "you made it work… How?"

"The treatment is working, but only just," Reid said, suddenly looking up, but his eyes were still glassy. "When I first tried the proteins she was too weak, her body accepted them but she wasn't strong enough to fight the disease,"

Simmons shivered slightly as she remembered her own experience of being too weak to fight an illness, of having to give up and make the hard call. She had done it for herself though. Having to do that for your own child, for someone you loved - that, she decided, would be infinitely worse. She tried hard to keep her composure, attempting to remain focused on Reid's words.

"I had to find something that would make her respond to the treatment, to make her strong again," he continued in a dejected voice, "and my new collaborators, they came up with the answer."

Simmons frowned. From the way Reid spoke he sounded relieved, but the look on his face was far from it. His eyes held a guilt she could not comprehend.

"Thankfully, now that Anima is stronger, I can hope that I have enough time to complete the cure," he said, attempting a weak smile. However, this made little impression on Simmons, who had frozen at his words. This was all beginning to sound horribly familiar to her. A desperate man, someone in need of being made strong again, an interested party.

"What exactly did you use to make her strong?" Simmons asked hesitantly, although at this point she was pretty sure she knew the answer.

"A strength serum," Reid answered simply.

* * *

"What happened?!" Ward asked as he burst into the office, causing three heads to turn simultaneously towards him. May almost sighed as she took in his face. It was moments like this, when he was worried for his team, that he truly looked little more than a frightened, wide eyed boy.

"I'm okay," Skye tried to reassure him from her position on the floor.

"Please," Fitz said sternly, rolling his eyes. His hands remained firmly on Skye's shoulders, forcing her to stay on the ground lest she do herself further damage. "You _passed out_, Skye. You are not fine and I don't know why you think I'd believe another word out of your mouth about your wellbeing," he continued heatedly, his accent growing stronger with his anger.

"We need to get her back to the bus," May said firmly, attempting to update Ward whilst ignoring the squabbling pair next to her. She could understand why Fitz was annoyed though - she would be too if Skye had deceived her and in doing so caused herself harm. But this really wasn't the place for a domestic and time was ticking on. "Ward, I'll lead, you follow behind with Skye,"

"Right, let's go," Ward said, bending to pick the girl up from the floor.

"Erm, yeah, I'm pretty sure I can walk just fine," Skye said hurriedly, "I was out for all of five seconds and I didn't hit my head, so…" she continued, beginning to get up confidently. However her face instantly turned a rather alarming shade of green, sweat breaking on her brow.

"Yeah, I really wouldn't do that," Fitz warned, knowing that searing pain combined with a loss of consciousness wasn't a good recipe. He rolled his eyes as the hacker sat back down, shock evident on her face. He was concerned for her, of course, but after years of watching Simmons work, he was fairly confident that Skye had no internal damage, just a lot of pain and a severe lack of common sense.

"Skye, enough," Coulson's voice demanded over the comms, silencing the team. "We're getting you back to the bus, and if that means Ward has to carry you then so be it. Fitz, you finish up with the files and then I want you outta there too,"

"What about Simmons, where's she?" Fitz asked immediately.

"She's fine," Coulson said steadily. It wasn't exactly a lie, but he didn't necessarily want Fitz to know what was transpiring downstairs. He had only just caught Reid's words about the serum, as things had been going so well in the lab, Coulson had been focussing on the events upstairs instead.

He was still sure that Simmons would be alright, but he also knew she would need some help to make up an excuse and leave. "She's still with Reid though, so I need you guys to do what I say so I can get back to her," he said firmly.

"Okay, you guys go, I'll catch up," Fitz told the others without argument.

"You sure?" Ward asked, taking Skye up in his arms. This time she didn't protest.

"Look, the quicker we get Skye out, the quicker I can come back and help," May said sharply, getting fed up of all the chatter. She didn't like her team being separated, and she could tell by the tone of Coulson's voice that all was not well with Simmons.

"True," Ward said, moving towards the door.

May looked back towards Fitz, and he nodded his thanks to her. She returned the gesture quickly, before raising her gun and slipping out into the corridor, Ward close behind with Skye in tow.

Fitz moved back to sit at the desk, checking to see that the files form the computer were still copying to the hard drive. However, his eyes caught something at the bottom of the page, and he returned his attention to the document he had abandoned earlier. His eyes widened as he took in the rest of the information, his breathing becoming shaky and erratic.

The diagram on the last page showed the mechanisms that could make the deactivation of tumour suppressor genes possible, but there was more. It showed that the gene therapy, combined with an injection of serum, would allow cells to change and become an accepted part of the body. Reid was re-altering people's DNA so that they would never require another dose of serum again. He was working with Centipede.

* * *

**Intense right? That was suuuch a hard chapter to write, please tell me it was worth it?! x**


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